Returned Home

24 July 19 

Today we are going home as we have been away for 11 days. However today is Todd's birthday and he has to return to work at his shop in Calgary, mainly because he has be away for a few days and his shop always host a party on his birthday. He left for Calgary around 8 AM. Unbeknownst to him , Carroll suggested that we crash the party so shortly after he left we also left. 

We arrived at the party a little late but all the staff and invited guest where still there so we got to me folks that we had never met before and there was plenty of food left. Todd calls it "Miracle Day" when he was born and of course the staff has a lot of fund with that. 

After the party we headed home and as it happen there was a terrific wind and the MH does not react well to the high winds. It was a fight to keep the MH on the road. On the way home there was a 18 wheeler who had an accident and we also came upon a large grass fire in the fields, probably started by the railroad. We noticed Fire Trucks from 5 different  towns, including the Fire Service from the Suffield  Military Base. End of our trip. Cheer

Visit the G/Kids at the Cabin

23 July 19

The 4 kids were at the cabin with Dad as Mom was at a Jonk family Anniversary in Minot , ND. While in Kelowna, we purchased  20 lbs of Cherries and 20 lbs of Blueberries, knowing, full well that the G/Kids would consume most of them. 

Emily , age 16, works at a Pizza and ice cream parlor beginning at noon so she got us up at 9 AM so her Dad (and us) would take her out on the boat to go Wake surfing. After we went boating for an hour or so we returned to the cabin for breakfast.  And then the other 3  ( Rhett, Quinn and Megan ) wanted to learn to surf behind the boat, s o in the afternoon we went boating again and too our amazement all 3 G/kids were able to get up and Wake surf behind the boat. That was enough boating for today. Cheers

Leaving Nakusp and going to visit our G/Kids at there Cabin

22 July 19

We left Nakusp and planned to stop at our son's (Todd ) cabin which is located on hwy 93 between Fairmont and Canal Flats on Columbia Lake. Due to our " unscheduled " stops along the way we were not sure if we can make it today. 

First we had to catch a ferry at Kalso to cross Kootenay Lake and this is a 1/2 hour crossing. Of course the ferry left just as we arrived at the landing so we had a 1 hour watch. The entrepreneurs of Kalso have taken advantage of this Ferry Landing by setting up several business such as a bakery, a cafe and a dress shop. Due to the wait time Carroll decided to " Browse" the dress shop.  The ferry crossing is free, but Carroll's dress cost me 75.00. 

Carroll had designs on stopping along the way in Crawford Bay which is an "Arties/ Farties " ( Artisans ) tourist trap village for us wayward  travelers who just have to but something even if it is over-priced. 

We visited the " Barefoot Handweaving " shop where they have 2 weaving loons and they weave most of their items right in the shop. Yes, it cost me another 100.00 to get out of that shop. We continued down the street to the " Dog Patch Pottery " shop and again it cost me to get out that shop as Carroll had to buy a Mug to add to the ones at home that we don't often use. 

The village has many other Artisan shops but the one of note is the "Northern Woven Broom" shop because it makes hand woven broom and they provided the brooms for the Harry Potter movies. 

Finally, we got back on the road and headed for the cabin, arriving just in time for supper. We plan to stay here until Wednesday. Cheers  

Heading for Nakusp, BC

Sunday 21 July 19

The first question our friends ask is " Where the heck is Nakusp " and why did you go there. The best answer is that we have never been there and it is "kinda " on the way home. Besides a few years ago a lady at the drug store mention that she was from Nakusp and as a well traveled traveler I decided we should visit it someday and today is "someday". 

From Kelowna you  travel to Vernon BC and then take Hwy #6 east which is a very winding , two lane road that goes thru several small towns/villages such as Lumby and Cherryville until you reach Needles. The trip on #6 is slow but very scenic so if you are in a hurry take  the TC #1 where you will see nothing but people trying to pass and jocking for position. 

When you reach Needle you will board a ferry and cross Arrow Lake ( which is a portion of the Columbia River system ) which is an enjoyable  10 to 12 minute crossing and the ferry is pulled by and endless cable. The landing on the other side is at a town called Fauquier and you then continue north on #6 for about an hour and you will reach Nakusp.

Nakusp is a village,and became  a settlement in 1892 and is located on the shores of Arrow Lake in the West Kooteney region. It is surrounded by the Selkirk and Monashee mountain ranges and as a result they have 2 Hot Springs resorts which is a definite draw for tourist along with golf , fishing, hiking and a lovely Japanese Garden. We visited the Halcyon Hot Springs resort and it is definitely a place to visit and stay if need be. The village has several  hotels at a reasonable price , several RV parks and a beach on the lake, with a good shopping area including a Save-On food store. The RV park was well run and we would have stayed longer if had more time. Cheers

Toured Kelowna and dinner with our Granddaughter and family.

Saturday 20 July 19


We made arrangement to meet our Granddaughter  ( Amanda ) and family for a supper date around 6 PM at a restaurant that they selected. Therefore we had the whole day to tour Kelowna and to observe the life during the summer in Kelowna. As anyone who has visited Kelowna knows the have a beautiful right in the city and as usual it was very busy with most activities on or around the late. When went to the the downtown area and it too was a bee hive of activity.

As I mentioned , we are camped outside of the city so on the way into town we passed several fruit orchards, mostly cherries and peaches. We decided to stop at a fruit and veggie market to check the prices as we did want to get some cherries, peaches and blueberries to take home. Then we went to an orchard to see what they had and if their prices were and less that the market. As it turns out the prices were the same as the market so we bought 20 lbs of Cherries and blueberries ans a small basket of peaches as the freestones were not available yet. 

I'm sure you are wondering what we will do with 20 lbs of Cherries and blueberries. Well, we intend to stop at our son's cabin between Canal Flats and Fairmont BC on Columbia and we were sure that our 4 G/Kids, better known as the  "human garburators " would devour  most of the fruit. 

After supper with Amanda and family we returned to their home to say our goodbyes' and to take some family photos. We hope to see them again sooner than the 4 years that had passed. Cheers

Horsefly to Kelowna, BC Friday 19 July19

After saying our "Goodbyes " to Bob we left Horsefly and headed for our destination which was Kelowna where we visited our Granddaughter and her family. I turned off the GPS and decided to follow my own route as I was sure it was a better route meaning a better drive and just a fast as the GPS route. We followed hwy 97 south from Williams Lake to Cache Creek and at that point I and I alone decided to take TC1 even though the "navigator" mews that I might want to take another look at the map. Then we got to Spences Bridge where we would take # 8 thru the Nicola valley and hook up with hwy  97 C which would eventually get us to Kelowna but certainly not as quickly as I though. On the map, road #8 road look fairly straight and uncomplicated, however I later found out that the guy who drew the map never travel on the road because it had a few hundred cruves that he fail to enter on the map. However, the scenery was endless and so were the curves. There was a bit of noise coming from the "navigator " saying that we might want to listen tot the GPS in the future. It was a rhetorical question and did not require a response nor was one given.  

We eventually reach hwy 97C and headed for Kelowna where we arrived about 2 hours behind my estimated arrival time. Lesson Learned:  Take a second look at the GPS suggestion; the fastest route may be the fastest route. 

We arrived in Kelowna in the late afternoon and the traffic was unbelievable but we were later told that Friday afternoon in the summer is always wall to wall traffic. We actually had to creep thru the city to reach our campsite on the east side. We have learned a lesson; don't go to Kelowna in the summer months.

When we reached our campsite we were shocked. There was no hookups, the site were at random wherever you could find a spot and the price was 45.00 per night. Unbelievable that they had the nerve to charge for this dump. The young guy that was the park utility man ran an extension cord so we had 15 amp services and he ran a hose so we could get water but that was it. We had to stay because we needed a place to park for the night and we had a supper date with our Granddaughter and her family in 2 hours and we did not want to be late.  Most of the other 10/12 campers where ; let me just say, they did not dance in our circle but they were polite and quiet. 

We have not seen our Granddaughter and family in 4 years as they had moved from Gibbons , AB (near Edmonton) to Kelowna about 2 years ago. Her children then 12 and 16 did not enjoy living in the country and her husband works near Ft Mac so he had to fly into work his shift so Kelowna wasn't much more of a deal then Ft Mac. 

Her children are now; Sabian 18 and graduated and Keenan who is 15 so Kelowna provide a much better social life for the entire family.  They have a beautiful home and we had a nice supper and chatted into the late evening. We made arrangement to go out for supper tomorrow evening. cheers   

Traveled around Horsefly Lake

Thursday 18 July 19

Bob and a friend go to Williams Lake every Thursday to shop and to do any necessary appointments. This a 100 KM round trip so they try to squeeze in all things on their trip. Today Bob's friend had to take his truck into town for maintenance, hence both drove their vehicles so they would have a vehicle while in town. 

While they were away we drove around the area of Horsefly Lake to see what really attracted people to this area. Obvious  there are people who want to get away from the " Maddening Crowd " of the city because there are many many houses/ cottages all around the lake. The idea of fishing on this wonderful lake during the summer is an attraction but it has got to be very boring during the long winter. It does appear that many people do live here all year. So each to his own. 

Since we will be leaving tomorrow and since Bob would not be home until suppertime,  we had planned to make supper. However, when Bob arrived home he surprised us with a large pizza so supper was on him. 

After supper we talked about all things  "important " until about 9 PM and then tiredness took over and sent us all to bed. Cheers 

Kamloops to Horse Fly Lake... Wed 17 Jul

Wednesday morning as we where about to hook up the car to the MH at Barker's it started to pour rain as it did most of the night. Since we were not in a hurry we just had another cup of coffee and finally the had  stopped. 

We left Kamloops heading for  Horse fly to see another military friend ( Bob Donker ) who we had not seen in several years mainly because he lives in a place that is also in the middle of nowhere. 

The trip took us about 6 hours even thought the GPS said 4 hours. The GPS doesn't take into account that we need a pit stop, a fuel stop, a lunch break and a snooze stop. It was an interesting drive as the towns/cities had odd names such a Cache Creek, 70 Mile House, 93 Mile ( they left off the House ) , 100 Mile House, 150 Mile House. Incidentally the distance between 100 and 150 Mile House is not 50 miles. But maybe it was in horse and buggy days. 

After leaving hwy 93 just north of 150 Mile House we travel another 56 km to our friends house in the town of Horse Fly. The town doesn't have much, just a general store with a  liquor dept, post office, school and a cafe ( call ahead to see if is open ). The area is mainly cottages and fishing but I did see a few small cattle farms.

When Bob built his house on the 7 1/2 arces of bush land he had the foresight to included an RV parking space complete with a full RV hookup ( PWS ) and satellite TV. Bob and his wife Elanor ( she passed away 3 years ago ) where avid RVers and they expected their many RV friends to visit hence the reason for the RV hookup.

We spent the rest of the afternoon swapping stories about family and friends and keeping our throats wet with Bob's beer.  Carroll had 3 steaks in the MH so we offer to Bar-B-Q the steaks for supper and Bob supplied the potatoes etc. After supper we again talk about our military buddies. Bob goes to Williams Lake ( 56 KM one way on a paved road but not your normal hwy ) every Thursday with a friend to run errands such as doctor and dental appointments and to do the shopping. Since they leave at 8 AM we called it a night fairly early so Bob could be ready when his friend arrives to pick him up in the morning.  Cheers 

Tuesday (16 Jul ) morning around 8:30 we left our overnight parking spot heading for Kamloops to meet our military friend who we served with on two base ( Holberg BC and Sioux Lookout ON ). Both bases are in the middle of nowhere. They insisted that we park in their driveway as they live on the outskirts of town where driveways are longer then a car's length so there was lots of room for us.  

We have been to their home 2 or 3 times in the past 20 years but we had to uses Carroll's trustee GPS to worm our way thru the city of Kamloops. Unfortunately, Kamloops has 2 seasons; winter and construction and we drove straight thru a  "war zone" in the middle of the city because our GPS said so. Luckily, a detour got us right back on the street we needed so all was not lost. 

We finally reached our friends place ( Marg and Joe Barker ) and we swamp stories about our families , military friends , both alive and dead and about our travels. They spend their winters in Montserrat and have done so for 30 years and yes we did visit them many years ago. Montserrat is not our cup of tea as it is too laid back.    By 11 PM we were all "talked out " and called it a night. Cheers

Summer Trip to BC to see friends and relatives

We left home on Sunday 14 July for a 10 or 12 day trip to BC in our MH. Our first stop was at our son's place for overnight which allowed us to see our G/kids once again. Our main reason for the trip ( besides using our MH ) is to see our G/daughter Amanda and her family which we have not seen in 4 years. Boy! does time fly. 

Added to the trip will be  a visit to a military buddy in Kamloops and another one in Horsefly Lake east of Williams Lake. 

The trip from home to Okotoks is about as boring as 1942  newspaper and we have done it way too many times. 

On Monday morning around 9 AM we left Todd's place and according to my trusty iPhone maps and Carroll's useless GPS, both said we could reach Reverstoke around 4 PM , BC time. Both where right but the traffic problems tried there best to make us later. When we got close to Canmore there was a traffic lineup for miles at a snail's pace. The hwy dept was doing some line painting, therefore both lanes had to merge into one and the paint truck was only traveling about 20 Kmh. I'm fairly sure I could hear the swearing and it wasn't all coming from our MH. 

Then sometime in the early afternoon an 18 Wheeler decided to park his Rig on its's side in the median. That cost us another 1/2 hour but luckily the tow truck had not got around to up-righting the rig yet or we would have spend a few hours parked there. I watch the TV show "Hwy to hell " so I know how long it take to get an over-turn rig out of the ditch.
 After a lunch break by a Pull-off on a lake we continued on as we deduced that we could still make Revelstoke by 4 or 5 PM.

However somewhere near Salmon Arms on a straight stretch of BC hwy another driver of an 18 wheeler fell asleep at the wrong time and parked his Rig over the embankment. The Tractor section had already been removed and the trailer was being unloaded so the tow trucks had not block the road yet so that only cost us 20 mins.

Even thought we did run into some paving crews we did get to Revelstoke by 4:30  and we found a place to park for overnight. It was a 5 acre paved lot with outdoor bathrooms and was obviously made for trucks to stop for the night. It did have a sign that said please limit your stay to 8 hours so I decide our "stay time clock " would start at Midnight. 

Before parking for the evening I had to refuel and I chose the Shell stations as the price of fuel was all the same Price and I had an Air Miles card and  I could use the miles. There are no truck stops in Revelstoke and our MH is 30 ft long and the tow is 20 ft. On top of that the fuel filler is at the rear of the MH and I was taking on about 200 L. With our length I will either block the traffic at the front of the MH or block the traffic at the rear of the car. I tried three times to use a pump that would not block the traffic but it did not work.  Finally I went across the street to Chevron station that was practically  void of customers where I could fill up without blocking anyone. I got fuel for 1.39.

We returned to the Truck stop and grab a space where we did not interfere with any Trucks. We spent a peaceful however  some  dork had 5 acres and he chose to park 3 feet for us.    Cheers 

MX/TX Trip # 85 17 to 23 March 19

This week started much like it ended. Sunday was overcast with a Misty type of rain and then finally it started to pour. This continued thru the night into Monday. We have a metal roof on our MH so any amount of rain provides a continuous chorus of music and it has no "OFF" switch. Amazingly enough, it does lull you to sleep after a while. 

Our friends from Nfld , had just returned from a 2 month trip to South America which included Peru, Columbia and Ecuador so they invited us over for Dinner to reconstruction some of their trip even though we followed them on Facebook. We have been and are interested in visiting SA we could not duplicate their trip because it included bus, train and plane travel coupled with miles and miles of hiking and hiking is not in our vocabulary. Although we still have Equador on our Bucket list. 

At this time of year the "Goodbye Parties " start so on Wed our friend Terry from Med Hat had several people over as she says to use up the food and the booze. She has a Park Model so any unused food is normally passed to the Park maintenance staff. 

Then on Thursday our friends, Ken and Linda invited us for Dinner and as Linda says we have a pork loin that we have to eat before they leave. We met Ken and Linda in Fiji several years ago when we did our Australia/ New Zealand trip which included a week in Fiji. 

With all the rain and overcast weather we had this week , we spent much of the time glued to the TV watching Women's curling. Too bad our Ladies did not fair better, however, it does speak to the parity of curling around the World. Cheers  

MX/ TX Trip #84 Happenings 11 to 16 March 19

The week started with a nice breezy ( actually windy)  day with a high of 85 F (30 C ) which is considered a gift from the "heavens " especially with all the rain and cool weather  we have received during Feb and Mar. It seems somewhat funny that we "Winter Texan's" complain about the weather when we don't want to return  home because the weather is much worse there. You can never satisfy a Senior.

Since Tuesday was also warm but windy we, along with our friends from Brandon decided to go to MX for the last visit of the year. The ladies had a pedicure while Larry got his golf shoes polished and I found a barber who did a decent hair cut for 5.00. Then the ladies had to do some "last minute " shopping  ( as if they needed  more MX stuff ). Carroll bought another purse for a reason I don't understand because she seldom  carries a purse and we don't have any money left to put in it after spending 4 month travelling around Mexico and the USA. 

Last week I heard a "Click " every time I moved the car forward or in reverse and as a long retired mechanic I recognized this noise as a bad U-Joint and I knew it had to be replaced. I ask a friend, who has been coming here for 20 years, if he could recommend a mechanic or a garage. He advised me to take it to Martinez in a local town some 5 miles away as he is a good mechanic and his prices are reasonable. I took it to Martinez the next day but he was busy and ask me to bring it at 8 AM the next day. Then he said let's do a road test and you drive and show me the problem. I backed up and he heard the "Click". Then he said put it in  Drive and another "Click". He said yep, it's a U-Joint.  Bring it in tomorrow. Martinez replaced both the  from and rear U-joint and then did a complete diagnosing check because my Engine light was on. The Engine light has been on for 3 years so I didn't consider it an emergency but he said he would do it anyway.   The cost of the parts, labour and diagnostic report cost 128.00.   

I knew that Martinez  was a retired Marine so I ask him how he became a Mechanic. He said his  Dad immigrated to the US before he was born and started to repair cars under a tree in his back yard. After a year he built a shed to work under cover. As a young boy he was interested in helping his Dad and learned to be a mechanic. Then during the Vietnam War he joined the Marines. After his first 5 years was up, he joined for another 5 years so he could get his  " re-up " pay which he gave to his Dad to build  the 5 bay garage that he runs today. He would like to retire but if he did he said his 3 helpers wouldn't have a job so he keeps the garage open for them. I would guess that his helpers are not licensed. 

Saturday was the start of the Women's World Curling which gave us something to watch on TV because it started to rain in the early morning hours and continued for 3 hours. Then the wind came up and the temp dropped to 11C. In TX with a north wind and rain that is a recipe for dam cool. Since our friends from Brandon are going home on Sunday  we went out for supper and said our goodbyes. Cheers

MX/TX Trip # 83 The Brier Week (1 to 10 March 19 )

As any curling fan knows from 1 Mar to 10 Mar is the Brier or the Canadian Championship of Curling and we are avid curling fans so much of our spare time will be spent watching the best Curlers in the World battle for the chance to represent Canada later this month.

Other happening this week  was renewing my iPhone plan. I am not great at understanding the iPhone yet but I am slowly learning.  The provider I chose in the US is T-Mobile and they don't mind me returning to ask multiple questions. One young lady who has helped me a couple of times told me that a T-Mobile staff has to have 3 months training before they  every sees a customer and I must admit they are customer friendly.  Anyhow the monthly charge for my iPhone is 67.00 CDN and it provides unlimited talk and text in NA and it comes with 10 GB of data. Telus.. are you listening. 

My WiFi was renewed on Wednesday but the provider has never sent me a bill.  I even ask for a eBill but they said they do not do eBills. I do pay it by Visa so I can track it but you would think they would want to sent a bill. I have to return the router to their office before I leave so I hope I get a bill then. 

Thursday was the last of the six Legends concerts that they have every year in this area and this time it was the Piano Man. The Piano Man is joined by  his son along with the obvious backup players. The music is mostly from Elton John and Billy Joel  and it was a very good 2 hour concert. Cost was 13.00.

On Thursday there was  a huge Bridge  Tournament at our Park and Carroll volunteered to help cut the cakes that they serve along with tea and coffee at intermission. . Carroll thought that she was going to cut the cakes and then be done. She later found out that she also had to serve it so after several hours of standing,  her back and knees where very sore. Moral of the story; when you volunteer make sure you understand your task. 

We have friends from ON that we meet 20 years ago who we have not seen since we got to TX in Feb and they are leaving on the 16 th so we managed to arrange a lunch date so we could catch up on their happenings and travel stories. They are of Dutch descent and they go to Holland every summer so they do have interesting travel stories.  We also went to the local Legion for a fish supper with friends from Brandon. While at the Legion  we also met old friends from NS whom, we knew from our days in Shilo, MB. It seems that wherever we go we see old friends but we have been traveling since 1998 so i guess we can't help but to bump into some friends ever once in a while. 

On Saturday someone decided to share the Sun with us and our temperature went to 34 C which is a little hot but we also got a TX breeze making it a wonderful day for a change. However, the Brier ( curling ) was down to the Championship round so we were glued to the TV for a few hours. 

On Sunday the 10 th , as usual we had breakfast with our friends, the Nahas as they are going home to Brandon next Sunday. We hope that the rotten weather that is predicted will pass before they leave. We must admit we were glued to the TV to watch the final curling game between Koe and Bottcher, ( both from Alberta , I might add ). We are glad to get a free week away from the TV but Carroll now has shopping on her schedule so that makes it a boring few days for me. The weather man has promise a very rainy, windy and cool week again.  What the heck is wrong with this weather . Cheers  

MX/TX trip # 82 ( Tuesday , Wednesday and Thursday)

26, 27, and 28 Feb 

Tuesday and Wednesday were rainy, cool days with high winds so what the heck can we do. Actually very little. We checked the theatres hoping to find a movie that we would like but to no avail. It seems that all the movies are violent  or space like so that is not our style. 

We solved the boredom by going to Costco. As everyone knows you can not just buy a couple of things at Costco. Somehow we found a way to spend 82.00 even though we only need a few items. However the "Tasters " had some excellent food so all was not lost.

Thursday 

It is probably best that  Feb is coming to an end because the  weather has be horrible and can't get much worst. March has got to be better. We have tickets for several  concerts and tonight the Legend music is about Jimmy Buffet. We do not know about him or his music but we bought the ticket anyway. We did not like the music so at half time we left and returned to the park and decided to join our friends and soak  in the hot tub. To us it was much more enjoyable than " Jimmy Buffet " Music. Cheers  

MX/TX Trip # 81 ( 25 Feb 19 )

I flew back to TX today but I had to catch the 1 PM flight as opposed to the 7 AM flight as both Todd and Yvonne had early morning meeting which meant the Marjorie ( their Nanny ) had to take me to catch my flight. 

Since I got a last minute flight the only available seat was a middle one so I was hoping that the 2 people on each side are not Football size people. The guy with the window seat was an executive with Enbridge oil Company. I questioned him why he was not in business class and he said it was a last minute decision and it was the only seat left. He said he was spending a week in Houston on business. 

The guy in the aisle seat had a Hab's cap on so I ask if he was a fan or just wearing there cap. I was going to ask ( jokingly ) if he got it at a garage sale but before I got a chance he said he was a Canadien's alumni, which meant he played for the Canadiens several years ago. I then ask his name since I did not recognize him. His name is Glen Metropolit. He played 08/09 and 09/10 for Montreal . He played professionally from 95 to 17 but he had a "cup of coffee " with Washington, Atlanta, St. Louis, Pilly and Montreal. He played in Europe for most of his career. 

He said he lived in Florida so I ask what brought him to Calgary when the temp was -35 C. He said he was with the Canadiens Alumni team travelling in Western Canada raising money for charity and playing against Police/Fire fighters in such places as  Yorkton, SK, Crystal City MB and even Victoria BC. I ask if he had to carry his equipment or was it taken care of and he said they had to carry their own equipment. It was an interesting trip.

When I got to Houston I immediately checked on my connecting  flight and of course the gate was changed as it always is and it also said it was delayed due to weather. I had to get a panic call thru to Carroll as she was having a friend pick me up in McAllen and of course we were not advised of length of the delay. I finally got home an hour late however the weather was bamy as opposed to the - 31 C when I left Calgary. Cheers  

MX/TZ Trip # 8o Sports Weekend

Saturday 23 Feb 19

Every weekend is a Sports weekend in Todd's family but this weekend was the final of the hockey season for the Twins and Rhett. EM also was in a Volleyball tourney. On Saturday Rhett was playing in the 1st game of a 3 game playoff and the winner goes to the Provincials. The game went into overtime and so was my heart. They lost in overtime but there was 2 games to be played on Sunday and again next weekend so all was not lost.  
 This weekend was TSN Hometown Hockey in Okotoks and Todd was one of the directors so he had some involvement. My body is not climatized to the minus 30 C temperature so I went home to the warmth of  Todd's house. I got a airline ticket to return to TX on Monday so this my last chance to see the G/Kids playing winter sports. 

Although Rhett played a game at 11 AM he also had a Power Skating class at 3:30 in the town of Black Diamond. I volunteered to take Rhett as I wanted to see what skills they teach at this school. Twenty minutes into the class Rhett wiped the snow off his blades. like all kids do and he sliced to fingers. The instructor hollered to me that he was bleeding so I rushed to see what happened. Because of the amount of blood I rushed him to the dressing and I tired to stop the bleeding with a wet cloth. He sliced 2 fingers at 30 degree angle so the skin was over the cuts so we wrapped it with 2 bandages and I took him to the local hospital, for what I thought would be stitches. Rhett kept reminding me that he didn't care what the doctor would do or say but he was definitely playing in the playoff game on Sunday. The doctor took a look at the cuts and said  that he would glue the skin/cuts and they would be good as new in a few days. The cuts were not deep but they did bleed a lot.   


24 Feb Sunday

Today the Twins are playing the finals for all the "money " in a winner take all game. The Twin's  team never lost a league game all year so they may have been complacent although 9 years old don't normal think like us adults. The first  3 period was a barnburner and ended in a tie. Overtime proved nothing so it was on to a shootout. Our G/son , Quinn is the goaltender and a lost would be on his shoulders. However, the other team missed on there first 2 shots and Quinn's team scored on both of their shots. Game over, we win the cup but it sure increased my blood pressure and heart beat. Cheers

MX/TX #79 Trip to Calgary/ Okotoks

Wednesday 21 Feb 19
I flew to Calgary today and went right to the foothills hospital via a taxi with the idea that I would hopefully get checked over because of the dull ache in my upper left chest area. What a shock when I walked into the ER. There was about 30 people in the waiting room and 4 or 5  people lined up to see the Trauma Nurse . Then I looked at a large TV screen which said " Time to see a Doctor " 4 hours. I ask the guy ahead of me if he thought the 4 hour wait was reasonable and he said you will be lucky to see a doctor in 4 hours. Of course the Trauma Nurse will determine the urgency and if necessary a person who needs attention will jump the cue and rightly so. 

Since my daughter in law ( Yvonne ) works at a bldg next to the hospital,  I decided to return to the ER tomorrow and hopefully get a better position in the cue. I then called my son ( Todd ) at his shop and said I would take a taxi to the shop. 

The taxi driver was from India but immigrated to Canada some 40 years ago but still had the accent. I do not know the address of my son's shop, although I have been there a hundred times so I told the driver that it is on Barlow on the south end of Deerfoot Trail near a casino and he says I know exactly where you mean. Then I noticed that he was getting near Deerfoot but in the wrong lane so I challenged him if he understood my direction. 
Apparently he only heard Barlow and casino  and as it turns out there is a casino at the north end of Barlow , which was the one he assumed I wanted.  He did not realize there was  another one at the south end of Barlow and Deerfoot which is the one I was referring to.  Finally I got him to turn south on Deerfoot and then he was aware of my destination. He did say that he seldom travels to this end of Calgary, hence he never thought of the Deerfoot casino.

Thursday 22 Feb

Yvonne leaves for work at 6:15 AM to beat the traffic so we arrived at the hospital around 7 AM and there was 4 people in the waiting and no line up at the Trauma Nurse so within 5 minutes I was in the nurse station waiting room along with 5 other. The nurses started to pick us off one at a time. Number 3 was a slovenly dressed man of about 30 ish and as he was bing lead to a booth by a nurse he kicked a sign left by a janitor and the sign hit the ceiling and broke a ceiling tile and then he laid some profanity on the janitor. A senior nurse grab the phone and called security and then everything else was out of my sight line so i missed the charades.  

After 10 or 15 minutes I was taken to a booth and told to remove my shirt so the they could do an ECG and take some blood. I immediately fell asleep until the lab tech arrived. This was followed with a Xray and then a wait for the doctor. Long story short , I was checked over and there was no indication of any heart problem so I was released. 

This is a hectic weekend as Todd is involved  with Rogers Hometown Hockey in Okotoks. Tonight I got the detail to take Emily (16 ) to Volleyball practice and  Rhett ( 11 ) and we are have a blizzard so I will get the feel of winter driving. 

Friday 22 Feb

Today I was detailed to take the Twins to hockey practice at PM at 4 PM as they are off school this week so I had to kill the rest of the day somehow. Todd's hockey rink was covered with 3/4 inches of snow so I decided to clean it off with the snow blower. The kids had friends over so they dug tunnels in the 6 ft drifts in the yard. So how long can it take to clear a 100 X 50 ft rink. Three hours during this very cold weather that they are having in AB. That is considered a days work for me so I took the rest of the day off. Cheers

MX/TX Trip #78 Happenings ( Sun, Mon, Tues )

After breakfast on Sunday with our friends we went to Harlingen as they have an excellent tourist information booth and we ( mostly Carroll ) are planning to go thru OK on the way home so we wanted to pick up a map  of TX and OK. I told Carroll that she would not get an OK map in a TX info booth but she had to find out for herself, and of course I was right. We have a GPS and an iPhone but we still like to have a map of our travel areas. 

All was not lost as Carroll decided that we may as well shop, since we were already in Harlingen which has all the proverbial stores. After an hour or so I reminded Carroll that the curling was on TV and it was much more interesting than shopping. 

Every once in a while I get a slight but dull ache  in my upper left chest and  shoulder area and I felt it for the passed 3 mornings. So I  decided that I should fly back to Calgary to have it checked to make sure it is not heart related.  I have travel insurance but I also have 2 pre-condition and if I have it checked here and the doctor suggest that it could be one of these pre-conditions my insurance would cease immediately. Also , by returning to AB my AB health Insurance is reset and I would have coverage for 40 days. Hence I get a refund from the Travel Insurance. 

On Tuesday I  found a last minute seat for Wednesday so I took it. Unfortunately I had to be at the check in by 5 AM so our friend from Brandon took me to the airport. Cheers  

MX/TX Trip # 77 Happenings ( Thursday,Friday, Saturday )

Since not much is happening when you are settled in the same  RV Park , like we are doing now , I will bunch several days of "activities", if you can call it that into each report. 

The main topic here is how different the weather is from what it has been in years passed. It is fair to said the weather is not conducive to the phase " Sunny Texas" because most days start with overcast, fog, mist and sometimes the Sun. Some our friends are golfers and many days they start their game with jackets/coats  and as an avid golfers they normally "sugar coat "   the weather by saying that the Sun peaked thru etc etc. 

We did not do much on Valentines Day but on Friday we went to MX , which is only 7 miles away , with our friends the Nahas. Neither of us had a need to visit MX but we just want to kill a day and we planned to have lunch while we were there, which we did. Larry and I had our shoes shine as Larry has been going to the same guy for 20 years. Apparently the "shine Guy " is from Monterey, and  comes to " Progresso " this border town every winter because business is better  because of us  "Winter Texans. " Then we met the ladies and had lunch at one of the restaurants that is a favourite for the Gringos. We would normally pick up a bottle of booze but TX has slapped a 2.75 tax on all booze coming into TX so the it just as cheap to buy in TX. 

On Saturday we went to the local Flea market as Carroll was looking for Bamboo sheets. We squeezed the Flea market trip in between the Scotties and hockey and this will continue for the next week. Cheers 

MX /TX Trip # 76 ATM Card arrived ( Wednesday)

Of course we had to hang around waiting on UPS to deliver the card and they usually deliver in the early afternoon but you can't count on the timing so we stayed home even thought it was a nice sunny day for a change. 

Since UPS had not arrived by 2 PM Carroll decided that she needed something from the Dollar store which is about a KM away and she would sign for the card if he arrived while I was away. Just as I passed the office I seen the UPS truck, which means that the driver was getting some Address numbers from the office so I waited until he came back to his truck. I said do you have a parcel for Esler and he said you bet I do just sign here. I now feel better that I have my ATM card in my wallet. 

Tonight is Card night and I play Euchre . There  was also entertainment in the rec hall so Carroll went with another lady and for 7.00 it was apparently OK, which means I would not have enjoyed it.

I have played Euchre with the same 12 people for two years and not one person knew my name when I walked into the room.  I said you can't all have Alzheimer, somebody must know my name. I even rented one guys Park model 2 years ago. I guess when they leave in the Spring they "dump" all the names and then get re-introduced when the return in the Fall. So now you know what kind of people hang out in these RV Parks. Cheers  


   

MX/TX Trip # 75 ATM Card ( Tuesday )

TD advised me that my ATM card would arrive between 5 and 7 business days and that I would have to sign for it. That would mean it would arrive on the 14 or 15 th so I planned to be home on those days which is not a real hardship since the weather is not conducive to doing much besides reading, watching TV or play cards with friends.  Actually it rained during the night and continued off and on until 5 PM when the sun broke thru for an hour. 

We stepped out for and hour to get milk and bread bread and when we got home we had a note from UPS that said they were here and they would try again tomorrow. I love the service; 3 business days, but I really didn't expect it that quick so now we get to stay home tomorrow.  Not a problem with our shitty weather. Cheers 

MX/TX Trip # 74 Weather Blues ( Monday )

Who the heck is in charge of this weather. Yesterday was acceptable but today it is rainy and cold again. Our weatherman thinks he knows the 7 day weather pattern but he doesn't have a clue. But as we say; we don't have to shovel it. 

Monday is a 5.00 supper night at the Rec Centre and tonight is a chicken burger, baked  potato and a spoonful of beans. It wasn't great so I think we will skip the Monday night suppers from now on. 

Monday night is also Euchre night so I went to the Card room and it was dark. Well, maybe they cancelled Euchre but it was on the activity list so I will check tomorrow. 

Luckily there was hockey on the TV and the Oilers lost again. Cheers    

MX/ TX trip # 73 Watch Curling ( Sunday )

The Weather is still up and down and at 7 AM the temp was 7 C but by noon it was 22C. The only up side is that AZ weather is more "shitty " than TX. 

It's Sunday so our ritual is to go for breakfast with our friends the Nahachewski's from Brandon. The subject of curling came up as they were avid curling in their "hayday " and they like to follow the MB teams. They don't have Cdn TV so we invited them over to watch the finals for the MB Provincial for the Men's and Ladies. 

We also watched the finals for AB Men's and Ladies. Was it wasted day. Not if you are a Curling fan. Cheers 

MX/TX Trip #72 Costco Day ( Saturday )

Another overcast day with an opening temp of 8C. If someone says the weather is good or great in Southern TX , don't trust them. It is always windy and sunny; cold and rainy or cool and windy. However, you don't have to shovel it and most likely you don't need to wear gloves. Always an upside.

This overcast day had Costco written all over it so went there to look for a few items, some of which we probably didn't need as usual. I mentioned earlier that our GPS let us down so we checked on a price of a new one at Costco. Too our surprise, they do not sell then in this store anymore. The supervisor said that there is not a sufficient demand mainly because most new vehicles have a built in GPS and the iPhone is being used in lieu of the GPS. I never thought about that  until now but I can understand Costco's point. They are a demand driven business. 

We had a late lunch at Costco and it was terrible. I had Chili and most of it went in the garbage. If you want Chili go to Wendy's. 

We spent the rest of the day watching Curling and Hockey as it was Hockey day in Canada. Cheers

MX/TX Trip #71 Got Internet today ( Friday )

Weather for today was rain overnight, overcast and the temp at 8 AM was 4 C. Dam it we are freezing!!!!

Spectrum , the internet provider said they would connect us up today at 8 AM and the tech, whose name is Armand ( there are no caucasians workers living in TX) would call me one hour before arriving. Really, a Tech is going to call a customer at 7 AM to say he will arrive at 8 AM. This is all done by text and you can follow the truck as he leaves his shop and arrives at your door. " Ain't the internet great. " 

At 9 AM there is no Armand so I text him with " Armand, where are you; you said 8 AM ". A few minute later a Tech shows up so I greet with , Hi Armand and he says I'm not Armand but I'm here to hook up your Internet. He said where is you connection and I said you can run it thru a window. He said no way, we do not our cable run thru a window,  we need a connection so I said you can use my TV connection, knowing  full well I would change it as soon as he left the park.

During our conversations he told me he was seconded from there office in Austin, TX  for 3 months due to the overload of work by all the Winter Texans in this area. He thought it was a joke because he did not know what a " Winter Texans" was. He had never been to  this part of TX before and he was shocked at all the RV Parks.

 He said why would we leave Canada in the winter. I said -35 C will convince you to leave and he said that he considers 60 F to be too cold to work outside. He was told by other Techs that Canadians say " EH" all the time but he did not believe it until he came here. He was a nice young Tech and made sure we were connected  and that all 3 computers/iPhone worked before he left. So now we are happy, we got satellite TV , Internet and beer in the fridge; what more can  a guy ask for????

The weather was overcast and Carroll seen the trailer on a movie called " The Upside" with a 3:30 PM start. It is from a True Story. So we called our friends in another park ( the Naha's from Brandon ) and said that we would pick them up, go to the movie and then for supper. They never turn down and offer like that. The movie was great and we strongly recommend that you see it when it comes to a theatre near you. Cheers  

MX/TX # 70 Called TD for a new Access Card ( Thursday )

Our weather has been shitty as the north wind brought rain the last 2 days along with cool temp. 

You may recall that the ATM machine in La Penita, MX  ate my card in February and I called TD for a new card. However, they said I had to stay in one place for 2 weeks as it would take that long for it to arrive. Since we  could not stay in Guayabitos that long, I had to wait until I got to the US to order a new card. 

Well today I called TD again because we will be in this park for at least a month . I must have got a new Kid on the block because I told him I was calling from TX and needed a new card. He said the only way to get a new card was to go to my bank. I think I said " you have got to be shitting me because I'm 3000 KM from my bank and I need a card ASP " ; Carroll said I was a little more forceful. He said I'm sorry and I said no you are not sorry , you better talk to a supervisor. He put me on hold and then returned with; OK Mr, Esler , we can get you a card but I need some particulars. After that he said it would take 5 to 7 days and he would mail it. I corrected him again and said you will send it by courier and he agreed. I believe he learn something about dealing with grouchy old customer today!!!

Since the north wind blew my satellite over ( without breaking it ) I got it anchored behind my MH and out of the wind. It did take some adjusting because I have 2 park models in the way and a large tree. But the satellite height angle is over 55 degrees which allows me too shoot over the park models. We had to have the TV as the Provincial Curling finals is on this weekend.

We finished the day off by attending  the music of the "Legions of Buddy Holly" at another Park and it was a good show. Our last minute ticket were in the 2 nd last row in a 400 seat Rec Hall but it was better than a front row were they blast you out of your seat. Cheers 

MX/TX Trip 69 Wifi Charades ( Wednesday )

Yesterday, I called Spectrum, the Internet provider for this Park and after 20 minutes or so they advised me that my address was taken on their data base so I can not get internet. I think I used the word ridiculous along with some stronger adjectives and finally the agent agreed to phone the Park office to try to straighten out , what I considered a small error. The problem, considered by the agent is that we have several addresses at # 208 but they all have a street name and ours is Spruce. Carol, the office manager, has been thru this "dance " before so she tried to inform  the agent that we have several 208's but all with a street name. He would not accept  Carol's analysis and then he called me back and said no internet because 208 is taken. Final answer. 

Most residents share their Internet with a neighbour and Neil on one side already shares with someone. Since I need internet I ask the neighbour on the other side if he would share his and I would pay half but he says he can't make that decision until his wife comes home so I gave up on that idea and went to the office to press the issue. Guess who wears the pants in that family.

Carol, the office manager agreed to call Spectrum and try to help me get internet. She explained the problem we had yesterday and he said he would check with his supervisor and lo and behold there was no problem. So Carol handed me the phone and now I get to talk to Spectrum and final get internet. But not before that  this Dork tried to up sell me on every frigging options they had so I had to raise my voice and emphasised that I wanted  internet and nothing else. When all was said and done they said they could connect me on Friday between 8 and 9 AM. The agent must have been new on the job because he put me on hold after every question and it took over 1/2 an hour to complete the contract. I told him my ear was sore!!!

In the afternoon we went searching for tickets to the Music of Legends. The majority of the ticket were sold out because they are on sale a year in advance but a few tickets were returned so we managed to tickets for Buddy Holly; Jim Buffet and The Piano Man. Cheers

MX/ TX Trip # 68 Setup day ( Tuesday )

First item on the list for today was to get the TV setup. We have been without TV for 3 days and for all we know Trump could have built a Northern wall by now and of course Trudeau would have agreed to pay for it. 

In TX the direction and the wind speed determines where and how you setup the satellite and we have a south wind ( which is warm ) with an estimated speed of 30/40 mph so I had to anchor the satellite substantially even though we are protected by 3 other park model.  Rumor has it that a cold front is coming on the weekend so the temperature will like drop and the wind will pick up and shift to the north and then I will have to move the satellite to a protected area. Anyway we  found the satellite and we now have TV. 

We were advised by Spectrum, the internet provider,  that they could not connect us until Friday so I headed to T-mobile to find  out the cost to get cell service on my iPhone. I got a very knowledgeable young lady who understands "cell illiterate people", to look after my request and she answered all my questions, which are many. Telus needs to take a lesson from T-Mobile.  I got unlimited Talk and Text ( USA and Canada ) and 10 GB of data for 45.00 per month. 

Then we dropped over to see our long time friends from Brandon. They were teachers at Shilo when we were there in the late 70's. We did not advised them that we were in Weslaco , TX so they were shocked to see us walk in. We will be seeing them often now that we are here. cheers 

Mx Trip # 67 P2P RV Park ( Monday )

We are going to the Pine to Palm RV ( P2P ) Park and Resort. The "Resort" is added so they can charge more but it is no more a resort than home is a Mansion. However it is a reasonable priced park and the people are friendly and genuine so we like it and we have been here on several occasions. 

We know that the office doesn't open until 9 AM and we gave away all our food in MX before we crossed so we venture to an old haunt for breakfast. Then we took a tour of the Park to see what sites were available before we moved the MH and to our surprise there wasn't much to chose from. We chose two nice spots but we later found out that they were reserved.

We needed propane for the MH so I took the MH to get propane and Carroll took the car to the park and waited for me. Then when we got to the park office we where advised that then only had a few sites available and we were told to go find one that you can get into because they were old park model sites that had not been upgraded yet. 

We found one but we could see that it would be tight. However, I used Carroll as my "backup monitor " and she directed me right over the water spigot. She said I better take a look because I may have broke a pipe. The early clue was the water was shooting out of the ground so I went to the office and declared an emergency. The maintenance men arrived within minutes and luckily  they only had to shut off the water to this one street. Sometimes in these old parks they have to shut off the water to the entire park. There are only 8 sites on this street and the maintenance men did not have time to advise anyone so naturally they residence started to ask around about no water  and they found out that some "dork " had caused the water curtailment. Then , of course everyone had to see for themselves but they were friendly and even introduced themselves. One wag said; it a great way to meet your neighbours.

Our site is all grass so we now have a water soaked lawn under our MH. However they are predicting rain for Saturday so it won't matter much by then.  

We spent the next few hours getting set up and then off to Walmart for groceries. I tried to set up the satellite but I was fighting a very strong south wind so I had to tie it down and it became a pain so I filed that job away until tomorrow. Cheers    

MX Trip # 66 La Poste to TX ( Sunday )

We left our overnight camp site at the Toll booth and headed for the industrial city of La Poste, where the Toll booth attendant said there was fuel some 23 KM ahead. We entered the city looking for the Pemex station but to no avail and since I had at least 1/2 a tank I wasn't overly concerned. However, we were about to enter another toll road and there are not many Pemex on toll roads. However we seen a fuel sign that said fuel in 11 KM so we just hoped that it had fuel. It did have fuel but only one pump per island so I'm not sure it they were rationing it or running low but they did give me a fill up.

Since Pharr TX was a little over 500 KM away we decided that we could make it that far before night fall so that was our aim. We reached the Pharr , TX border area on the MX side  at 6 PM but could not located the the crossing because our GD GPS quit. Finally we seen a sign for the border crossing but it said it was for Truck. We assumed that the vehicle crossing must be close by so we took it. 

As we entered the truck crossing we noticed that it was closed and now we were in a jam. Luckily there was enough room to do a U-turn. But where the hell do we cross was the question. Then we seen a truck ( tractor only) and 2 cars enter at an odd place but what the hell; that must be the entrance.  Remember , we are still in MX so there was no signage. Then we entered the booth to pay for the border crossing and I ask to be directed to  MX immigration to turn in our vehicle passes. The attendants at the toll booth spoke no English but out of the blue,  a man who I thought was a beggar directed us , in English to the parking area. After 20 mins or so we cleared MX immigration and headed across the bridge to the US customs at Pharr, TX.

 It took us 1 hour and 15 mins in line before we could even see the US customs. When we were about 10 vehicles for the booth I notice a customs office walking towards us and I said to Carroll, " I don't think he is coming to welcome us to the USA; we must have done something wrong". He actually said the RVs are not allowed at this crossing  because we are not equipped to handle them. However, since you are now here, we will open a truck booth and he directed us to it. Once we entered the booth we were advised that we would require a full vehicle search, including an agricultural search , which was OK with us.  We were ask to step outside and 3 inspector went into our MH. After a few mins the only question was about a frozen bag with spaghetti sauce and it was cleared. One inspector was holding our Passports and he hollered to someone in the booth if we were cleared and I heard a voice say" they are Cdns; they are cleared to go. During the conversation I did just happen to mention that I spent 30 years in the Air Force because many customs officer are ex-military and it never hurts to let then know.   After clearing  the customs we went to a local Wal-Mart for the evening and we will go to the RV Park in the morning. Cheers   

Mx Trip # 65 Mis Play of the Day ( Saturday )

We left Villa Corona right on schedule at at 9 AM. The trip to Guadalajara, where we will catch the Periferico ( ring road around the city ) would be 1/2 an hour. What a wakeup call for us. The line up to get on the 4 lane hwy to Guadalajara took over 1/2 hour alone because we have a stop sign and the traffic on the hwy was so heavy, that the trucks ahead of us could not get a sufficient window to safely enter the hwy.  Some small cars and trucks actually left our lane amd entered the hwy  going down the exit lane. We thought there was going to be an accident but there wasn't one. Who in there right mine would do that: The answer Mexicans. 

We made it to Guadalajara and now we depended on our trusty GPS to advises us of the turn to the Periferico and to point us toward Zacatecas.  The periferico was in sight but the GPS said turn right which we did but as it turns out that was a mistake because it took us right thru the 2 or 3rd largest  city in MX. To be honest we were lost and gave up on the GPS. After 1 hour we stopped at a Pemex and got help from a customer who spoke English and as it turns out we were 2 km from the Periferico, however we are now at the extreme east of the city and we want the west side. 

OK, Zacatecas is now our of the question so we change our plans and headed for San Luis La Posti which is a huge Industrial city and we assumed that they would have fuel as we would need a top up by tonight or tomorrow morning. 

We arrived at a Toll booth around 5 PM and we were 25 km from La posti and I ask the attendant about fuel and I was advised that they had fuel 23 KM ahead at La Posti. We now had a choice to make ; do we stop at the toll booth overnight where there is lots of parking or go to the Pemex 23 km down the road and "hope " there is room to park. We choose to stay at the toll booth. We will hope to get fuel tomorrow. I only need to top ups to reach TX. Cheers 

MX Trip # 64 Waiting On Propane/ Supper with friends ( Friday )

As mentioned yesterday, I ask the camp owners to order the Propane truck to for me and a neighbour today but it never happen. I didn't really expect they would be here for 2 customers. However we stayed at the MH until noon waiting on the truck as he was suppose to be here between 8 and 10.

We are leaving here tomorrow and will be heading for TX which will take us 3 nights. We needed a few more Pesos so we went to the bank only to find a long line up. There are 2 banks in town , one with 2 ATMs and the other with one. Only one ATM was working so I was not in the mood to line up in the hot Sun so we left  and will return later. 

One of the neighbours had arranged a supper for 3 couples , one of whom we just met.  We had a happy hour before supper just to swap some travel stories. The supper was called Barbacola and it is a MX special dinner cooked and served in the owners home. It was Bar-b-Q beef done in a sauce with rice and a vegetable bean sauce which was a touch hot especially for Carroll. Dessert was Flan with caramel sauce. Flan is a type of custard which is another MX dish. It was an excellent meal and the cost was 100P ( 7.50 cdn) each.

Since we will be on the road for the next 3 days I will not have internet so my next blog will be from TX on 5 or 6 th of Feb. cheers 

MX Trip #63 We did Nothing today ( Thursday )

We Tell it like it is!  We went to the hot pool at 9 AM and stood around swapping stories with others. Someone suggested that a gang of us go out for supper on Friday so we all agreed and we nominated ( Railroaded ) the person who suggested it to make the reservation. 

Then we sat in our patio reading and mulling over the route we will take to TX  starting on Saturday. Oh yes; I ask the camp owner to order the Propane truck for Friday as I'm running low. I would not bet the farm on the chance they will show up. cheers

MX Trip # 62 Cocula ( Wednesday )

We did have anything to do today so we took a drive 21 KM to the city of Cocula. You may recall that we went there on Sunday for supper and to listen to the Mariachi band. We were told that it was a bustling , industrial city and that is what we found during our drive about. First we stopped at the Bodega ( grocery store ) to do some shopping as we were told that it was like a small Wal-Mart. It was true because some of the item were in fact Wal-Mart products with " Great Value" on the package. We picked up a few items and then decided to tour around the city/town. 

We noticed many industrial stores like paint, drywall lumber yard etc. and then as we got closer to the Zocola ( Town Square )  there was the obvious business such as doctors, dentist, eye specialist and everything else would expect to find in a city of 12,000. The streets are paved and they have parking meters so that is an indication that it is more than bedroom town. Once we reach the Zocola we circled it looking for a parking spot without success but we spotted a vendor selling Blueberries and Raspberries. So on the third lap I stopped and let Carroll out as we want berries and our vendor in Villa Corona was out of them. Then I found a parking spot but there was an evil eye policeman watching me so I ask If I could park and he said yes. 

You are never sure if it is legal to park because  yellow  paint on the curb means no parking. Actually it means I can't park there; the Mexicans seem to ignore it. Green means you can park only if you are doing business in the immediate shops. Blue means something else but I'm not sure so I don't park. No marking means you can park. If people don't want you to park in front of their home/business they just put a couple of chairs in the space and that seems to be acceptable.

After I parked , I then went to rescue Carroll as she was expecting a driveby pickup. We tour some more of the town and returned to our MH. Cheers 

Mx Trip # 61 2 Caravans arrived ( Tuesday )

Today is Market Day and even though we did not need much we take in the market experience. It is amazing what the have for sale, of which most does not interest us. They have a ton of clothes but most stuff is what you would see at a flea market. However, if you need it they got it. One resident needed an Ether Cord for his tv and he found it at the market. 

However, they do sell lots of veggie and it is a bit of a " shit-show " because you just barge into the table and inch your way along picking up your veggies until one of the clerks ( mostly men ) recognizes that you are ready to pay. We but 4 tomatoes, one cucumber etc but the MX ladies will buy a shopping bag full of tomatoes.  I think they bring the whole family to shop because no one person could carry everything they buy and there is shopping carts at the market.  

Neither Carroll or I have had a haircut since mid Nov so we decided that today was hair cut day. We got the address of a Salon from friends but the street was closed completely as the power company was working on it. We would have walked to the Salon but we could not find a parking spot within the vicinity. When we return to the park another friend said that there was  Salon about 2 blocks away so we went there. So we both got a hair cut, total cost 6.00 Cdn. 

In  the early afternoon a small caravan of 6 rig came in and parked in the overflow area which has power and water only. I doubt that they had reservations. This seemed odd as there was at least 25 open sites. Our neighbor wasn't  busy so he went over to talk to the group but apparently they went not too friendly and weren't interested in swapping travel stories.

Then about 3 PM another caravan  ( from Quebec ) of 15 rigs came in and they did have reservations and that is why the 6 earlier rigs went to the overflow because the French caravan all want to park together as much as possible. So we had French on both sides of us. They only stayed for 2 days. Cheers

MX Trip # 60 Day trip to Lake Chapala ( Monday )

Our original plan was to move to the Lake Chapala area and camp there for a few days as it is only 50 KM from Villa Corona.  However,  we like the hot pools and the friends we have made and of course the camping at Villa Corona so we did a day trip to Ajijic and Chapala which are two cities joined at the hip. Many ex-Pats , both Cdn and Americans have take our residence in this area and are MX citizens of a sort. 

The Ex-Pat couple that we have talk with, said they still have Cdn Passports but they carry Mexican Identification card which allows they certain advantage like full medical treatment for 300.00 a year. In fact one couple from Markham, ON said they have been permanent residence in Ajijic for 11 years and there are many couples just like them in a sub division. They have formed a co-op ( my words ) to obtain a group plan for medical insurance plan.

This same couple seem to live a shallow life style if I am a judge of people. As we perused the menu of a semi-outdoor restaurant they advised us that the restaurant  had  excellent food but more important they had a bottomless glass of wine and margaritas. 

We then took a table close by more or less to get a feel of the area and to chat. That is when they said they had been residence and had left Markham, ON 11 years ago years. While we ate dinner and chatted I noted that the man had knocked back 4 glasses of wine and the waiter kept pouring. I wasn't  sure if they had eaten yet but it appeared the wine was more important than food. Out of curiosity I ask if the came to this restaurant often and I got the answer I expected, "yes we do ".

Carroll and I went for a walk along the lake front as there were at lest a  km long  strip of vendors so we must have killed an hour and a half. We returned to our car which was park in front of the restaurant and the couple was still there drinking free drinks. Hopefully this not the typical Ex-Pat. 

Ajijic and Lake  Chapala is far to busy for us so our day trip was enough to fill our curiosity. We have notice a big change since we last visited 8 years ago. Like most cities it just keeps on growing. cheers 

MX Trip # 59 Dinner at MiGusto ( Sunday )

We went to Cocula for supper and to listen to the Mariachi band that plays at the MiGusto restaurant every Sunday evening.

Cocula is a industrial and farming town located on hwy 80 which is a main thorough fare to the coast so it does see a lot of traffic. It seemed odd that Villa Corona was out of fuel and Cocula did not even have much of a line at the two Pemex that we seen in town. Cocula also has a Wal-Mart but it goes by another name and it is just called the Bodega. Carroll and I will visit the store on Thursday to pick up some item before we head north. 

Fred and Donna are leaving tomorrow so we are taking them to Cocula which is 21 km from Villa Corona because they have never been there and they do like Mariachi music. The band plays for 1 1/2 hours and that is my limit for Mariachi  music. Of course we were the only Gringos in the restaurant so the Master of Ceremonies   came to our table to get our names and ask where we were from so he could introduce us to the crowd.

Fred is multi- lingual so it good to have him decipher the menu and to make sure the waitress understands our order.  The owner  of the restaurant suspected we were camping at Villa Corona so he came over to welcome us and would have bought us a Margarita but none of us drink that " crap ".  We were advised by the guide at the brewery in Tequila that most Margaritas  are made with the cheapest Tequila they make and it usually gives you headache. I have had that headache several years ago I don't need a relapse.

The music was good and the food was plentiful as we all had to get a "doggy bag ". We all had pawns, which not a surprise when you get a plate full of prawns for less than 10.00. Cheers 

MX TRip # 58 ( Saturday )

This was one of those day where you just seem to walk there the day. Of course we hit the hot pools first but the one pool had a zillion kids in it so we took one with less activity. A large crowd   was expected because it is the weekend and the pools are always full. They have a real good Splash Park which has two large tubs that dump water on the kids and some old folks too. These tubs hold 1000 L and 5000 L ( 1300 gals ) and they have to have a spreader to spray the water or I'm sure without it; it would be dangerous. We have never seen tubs that large.

We did skip into town for a few items and to check on the fuel situation.  A tanker was off loading  in one Pemex. However I did a lot of reading as I found a Arthur Hailey   book that I had not read.

 We finished the day with a happy hour with 2 couples. Fred and Donna are leaving on Monday so we re-hashed their trip by suggesting which way they should go and which roads to avoid.  Fuel is not a problem for them as they have a diesel truck. Cheers 

MX Trip # 57 Lazy Day ( Friday )

Some days there is just much to do so I today is one of those "what can I do today " days. The first thing is to hit the hot pools for an hour. 

Well, we have been bragging about the Blueberries and other fruit so after we hit the hot pools in the morning we decide to go into town which is several blocks from the park and do some shopping. 

We have to drive by 2 Pemex gas station on the way to town so we always check if they are open. The first station  was not open but the next one had about 6 cars in line and since I was down a 1/4 tank from our trip yesterday I filled up. The latest rumor is that it will take a month or more before they get the gas supply fixed. I'm not so sure. 

Then I dropped Carroll off  at the fruit stand , because there is never any dam parking and I had to circle the block looking for a space. We agreed to meet at the grocery store after she picked up the Blueberries and Raspberries. After picking up a few groceries we drove around the town just to see what they had for other business. It is not much.

One of the park residences are a couple from Columbus Ohio ( Bill and Carolyn ) and they are not Trump fans. Bill has been trying to set up his satellite with no success so I ventured over to see if I could help. We discussed satellites but I was not much help. However he showed me how to use the satellite direction finder on my iPhone so now I am somewhat smarter. cheers  

MX Trip # 56 Visit two towns ( Thursday )

We heard about two towns within an hour and half drive so we decided to pay them a visit. The first town which is Zacoalco and it is a small but busily industrial town and is known for making furniture such  as chairs, table and sofas. This a cottage industry  town so there are many small shops. We stopped at one furniture shop to investigate , not to buy. The chair frames where already built but we did see them upholstering a chair and they were using pig skin. It follows that they must have lots of pigs in the area but our lack of Spanish doesn't allow us to ask many questions.

While driving into town we went by the Town Square ( Zocola ) and it was market day so we just had to check it out. The market was mostly meat vendors but there were many other vendors along the street so Carroll had to check out the shoes. As she was trying on Crocs and having trouble with the language a gentleman happened along and could see the problem so he stopped to help. He said he was originally from the town and  was home for a visit as he has been working in Portland, OR for 20 years hence the reason he speaks English.

Then we headed to the town of  Sayula and they are noted for manufacturing knife. As we entered town/city I noted that the main  street was paved, 4 lanes with a boulevard. That in itself is not a normal town so I realized it must be highly industrial. As we entered the town to the town square it was obvious that is was middle class town. All streets were paved , there were many one way streets and for the most part people drove the right way down a one way street. That may be because there was several  police driving around the city which is not normal in small towns or cities. 

Our interest in this city was to go to a knife factory to see the knives being made. We did not have an address so we approached  the local taxi who were waiting for a fair at the town square. The taxi's are the 3 wheel motorize cart, much like a 3 wheel motor cycle which has room for 2 people and the driver. The driver took us directly to the factory/store. Unfortunately the factory was closed but the store was open so we were shown around by a young lady. Once again no English but we did see the thousands of knives on display and they are not cheap. We did purchases a knife with a 6 inch blade for 42.00 Cdn. 

We had lunch and return to our camp site. 

MX Trip # 55 Fuel has arrived??? ( Wednesday )

Fuel has arrived in Villa Corona and we have two Pemex station so it appears that they are taking turns at receiving the fuel because both stations are never open on the same day. You never know when fuel will arrive but I suspect it is during the night because I have never seen a tanker in this town. 

Anyway, this morning around 10 I noticed a fairly short line up of probably 200 M long waiting for fuel so I decided to join the line up. It took me 35 minutes to get to the pumps but I have lots of spare time and I need fuel so what choice do I have. When I got to the pumps the sign said a 100 liter limit but since my car was 1/2 full that was not a problem. Since the line up was fairly short I return to the camp site and got the MH.  When I got to the line up there was only 6 or 7 vehicles ahead of me so this was a bonus. I was beginning to think that the short line up meant they were running low on fuel but that was not the case.

As I entered the gas station I was ask if I wanted diesel or gas as most Class A MH are diesel. When I got to the pump I was ask how much fuel I wanted and I said I would like you to fill it. A lady standing near by, and I think a supervisor, heard me and said fill it up. By early afternoon they had run out of fuel again.

We had intended to go south to Patzcuaro however some friends left on Thursday to visit Paztcuaro, and  send us an email saying the fuel crisis is worst in that area. We now have strongly considered leaving MX and  going to TX, which is only 1200 km away and I can reach it with 2 fill ups. AZ is not worth taking a chance.

One couple are leaving tomorrow so they suggested a pizza for a happy hour/ supper with 3 couples so we (actual Carroll ) agreed. One guy ( Fred from Salmon Arms ) speaks several languages so he ordered the pizza by phone and it was delivered by motorcycle. 

We hit the hot pools twice today. Cheers

MX Trip # 54 Market Day ( Tuesday )

Every Tuesday is Market Day and everyone in the area comes to town and I did noticed that the older folks seem to do more visiting then shopping. However to say that it was crowded is a understatement. The Market starts at the town square (The Zocola ) and then they block of off one street for 3 blocks so the vendors can set up their booths. To coin a phase; it is organized confusion.

The grocery store is at the end of the market so we joined the throng of people to see what the vendors had for sale. Then we  did the grocery shopping first and returned through the crowd to pick up fruits and vegetables including the fresh Blueberries etc. 

I have mentioned that there was no fuel. Actually, we have received some fuel every other day but the line up is blocks long and most of the time the fuel runs out before many of those in line get to the pumps. Hence the reason I do not get in the line up. 

Today we dropped over to visit Mike and Barb who are a couple from Delta BC and  have been residences in this park for 10 years and have become  Mexican residence. This allows them to have MX health insurance for 300.00 per year. We want to visit two towns, one that builds furniture and another that makes knives so we  had to get directions from Mike as he knows the location of these places. Cheers 

MX Trip # 53 Finally got the Laundry Done ( Monday )

Carroll is starting to feel better although she is still staying close to the MH and doesn't feel like shopping or going to the Hot Pools for obvious reasons. 

I decided to get the Laundry done come hell or high water so I visited the laundry facility and spoke to Martha, apparently the "Queen" of the laundry facility . I ask about her doing the laundry and because we could not understand each other she pointed to a sign which said she need authorization from the office. I then went to the office and said the Martha needed there approval to do my laundry. The office lady made a phone call and said take your laundry to Martha. I ask the price and she said no charge, it's a free service.  Martha had our laundry done by 3 PM and when I picked it up I tipped Martha and she couldn't get the smile off he face 

So we are paying 15.00 Cdn per night for a full service camp site; full use of the hot pool and free laundry. Did I say why I like MX. 

Since Carroll did not feel like shopping I took her shopping list and headed to town. Since we where her several years ago I had a good idea where to go and besides I had to visit the bank with her card. ( you probably recall the the ATM in La Penta ate mine ). This time the ATM treated me kindly and gave me money. 

On the way to the grocery store I happen to see a street vendor selling Blueberries, Strawberries and Raspberries so I could not resist so I bought all three. They are so good I will return in couple of days for more. After picking up some groceries I returned home passing the Pemex gas stations and they had fuel but the lines were miles long so I will wait for another day. We are in no hurry to leave this place. 

In the late afternoon another couple arrived and they are from Ohio so I went to say hello. They are seasoned MX travelers.  They parked in the over flow because the 20 Caravans had all the good sites they wanted and the Caravans are leaving tomorrow and they will have the pick of the litter tomorrow. Incidentally, there are only 3 Americans in the camp, 2 of which arrived today and one is leaving tomorrow. Cheers